Meet Carolyn Roddy
A career regulator. A lifelong Georgian.
Carolyn Roddy has spent 25 years practicing utility and communications regulation — at the Federal Communications Commission, at the USDA Rural Utilities Service, and in private practice across the Southeast. She is running for the Public Service Commission because Georgia deserves a regulator who reads every rate case.
Her Story
From Athens to Washington and back again.
Carolyn Tatum Roddy grew up in Georgia and never left for long. She earned her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, practiced in Atlanta, and today lives in Marietta. When she did leave Georgia for work, it was for federal agencies in Washington that set the rules for the utilities Georgians depend on.
After UGA Law, Carolyn spent twelve years at the Federal Communications Commission as a staff attorney, representing the Commission in rulemaking, licensing, tariff, and enforcement proceedings across wireline, wireless, and public safety communications. She then moved to Sprint Communications as Regional Regulatory Counsel for the Southeast, and later served as Counsel at Troutman Sanders LLP in Atlanta and as Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Satellite Industry Association in Washington.
Her work at the USDA Rural Utilities Service as Senior Rural Broadband Advisor put her at the center of federal policy on rural electric, water, and telecommunications infrastructure — the same universe of regulation the Georgia Public Service Commission handles at the state level. She represented USDA on the American Broadband Initiative and on establishing the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force. In 2017 she returned to the FCC as Special Counsel under Chairman Ajit Pai after serving on President Trump’s FCC transition team, and most recently served as Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at NTIA in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
That is a long paragraph to say a simple thing: Carolyn has spent her career on the accountability side of utility regulation. She reads the filings. She knows how rate cases work. She has done this before — at the federal level, for twenty-five years. Now, with Georgia Power bills up 30.8 percent since 2023 and the current Public Service Commission approving nearly every expansion the utility has asked for on unanimous 5–0 votes, she is running to bring real regulatory expertise back to a commission that needs it.
Career Highlights
25 years representing the public interest.
Federal Service
FCC Staff Attorney
12 years representing the FCC in rulemaking, licensing, tariff, and enforcement proceedings across wireline, wireless, and public safety communications.
Private Practice
Sprint & Troutman Sanders
Regional Regulatory Counsel for Sprint Communications in the Southeast and Counsel at Troutman Sanders LLP in Atlanta, representing telecommunications clients before state and federal regulators.
Rural Georgia
USDA Rural Utilities Service
Senior Rural Broadband Advisor. Represented USDA on the American Broadband Initiative and in establishing the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force.
Trump Administration
FCC Transition & Special Counsel
Appointed to President-elect Trump’s FCC Transition Team in 2016. Returned to the FCC as Special Counsel under Chairman Ajit Pai in 2017.
Department of Commerce
NTIA Deputy Assistant Secretary
Most recently, Senior Advisor to the NTIA Administrator and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Georgia Roots
UGA Law & Board of Visitors
University of Georgia School of Law graduate. Appointed to the UGA Board of Visitors in 2019. Lives in Marietta.
“
Regulation is regulation. Rate cases, tariffs, prudency review, consumer protection — I have done this work at the FCC and at USDA for twenty-five years. The PSC needs someone who has actually practiced in this field.
Carolyn Roddy
Sources & Data
Carolyn’s 12 years at the FCC as staff attorney; Sprint Communications regional regulatory counsel; Counsel at Troutman Sanders LLP; Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Satellite Industry Association; 2016 appointment to President-elect Trump’s FCC Transition Team; 2017 FCC Special Counsel under Chairman Ajit Pai: Fierce Network (“Trump names former Sprint regulatory counsel Roddy as member of FCC transition team”); Inside Towers.
USDA Rural Utilities Service role as Senior Rural Broadband Advisor, representation of USDA on the American Broadband Initiative and the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force, and current role at NTIA (Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary): NTIA.gov — Carolyn Roddy biography.
University of Georgia School of Law graduate and 2019 appointment to the UGA Board of Visitors: UGA Alumni (Board of Visitors, September 2019); Georgia Technology Authority bio.
30.8% Georgia Power bill increase since 2023 and unanimous 5–0 PSC voting pattern: Georgia PIRG; Grist; Georgia Public Broadcasting (Dec 2025 vote).
See her priorities for Georgia.
Carolyn’s platform for the Public Service Commission: consumer-first accountability, rural Georgia investment, and honest oversight of every rate case.
Carolyn Roddy for Georgia 